Trials and Tribulations

Why is it that when people need help the most, they run from it?  Really?  I have done it myself.  We have all done it.  What makes us think if we “ignore” what is bothering us, it will go away.  That doesn’t even work when we try it with people who “bug” us.  Why would we think it would happen with something?  It always finds us where ever we are and “surprise!” we are caught again.  It is like those period commercials with mother nature.  You know the ones I am talking about.  She appears with a gift wrapped with a red bow.  Well trouble is often a gift with a red bow.

The trouble can be shoved in a closet.  We can try to give it to someone else.  We can try ignoring it and hoping it will go away.  We can run away from it.  In fact, a lot of people chose that one.  I have a friend who has run from one coast to another in order to avoid the trouble that is following her like a can tied to a dogs tail!

It frustrates me because I can see it.  When she it thinking clearly, she can see it too.  But, she is just not yet ready to admit that she just needs to take the box, unpack it and deal with the stuff that is inside.  Yet, she gets surprised when it seems to find her no matter where she goes.  Imagine that!

I also hate how we show people one thing to get them off the track of another.  We can be fooled by that a lot.  Just think about little children who want something and we get them interested in something else.  The old bait and switch works well no matter what age you end up being.  That is until you catch on.  My ex-husband was wonderful at “look at the thing here while I do something else over there”.  I am a pro when it comes to that game.

Before I caught on though…I would get interested in the other thing and for a time let go of the thing I was first interested in.  That got me in a whole lot of terrible situations.  I stayed way to long in a marriage that I should never have been in in the first place.  Thankfully, with the help of counseling and some really good friends, I got out of that one.

Now, I am trying to help my friend.  She has avoided me since she found out that I was on to her.  I love her and want to help.  However, I know my limitations.  Can’t help anyone until that want to be helped no matter how much you want to.  So, all I can do is let her know that I am on to her trick and give her the rope to hang herself.

Then comes convincing….We have all had someone close to us try to convince us that what they are doing is for the best.  We know it is not…but they spend long hours trying to justify their actions or their choices.  Some times, their choice is a good one.  However, unless they choose to completely face what is wrong…they won’t heal.  They simply put a scab over the wound that continues to fester. 

When they hurt enough…maybe they will choose to face what is wrong.  Or they could continue to try and run.  Eventually, I think they run out of places to run.  And, when you are cornered by the issue is really no time to try and decide how to handle it sanely….

Amazing

God and His creations are totally amazing.  I say that almost every day.  I thank Him for all of His wonderous things and for His infinite wisdom in how time works.  Why am I proclaim this now?  Well, I just got back from my morning walk.  Spring is in the air.  My cheeks are still tingling from the wind that was blowing.  And, I have my windows open so I can feel the air and hear the birds’ songs.

I don’t think the average person ever really realizes just how amazing the seasons and cycles of life are.  They just pass through them with very little attention paid to what is around them daily.  They don’t take note of the little things that are happening right now.

Around the first of March, the world itself makes a shift and things in our hemisphere start warming up.  Even though we may still feel the chill of winter, the seeds and the plants and the trees know that it is time to start growing and blooming and leafing out.  We start to see little buds on the ends of limbs of trees.  We see greenery on the plants and shrubs.  Those bulbs and seeds, dormant during winter season start growing towards the surface.  Daffodils bud and bloom along with crocus, hyiacynth, blue eyed grass, and a plethera of others early spring plants.  Dogwood trees start to prepare to bloom for Easter.  The whole plant world is in a state of change.

Well, that brings us to the animal world.  When the sap rises in the trees and starts the growth of leaves, etc…the desire to multiply starts in birds and other animals.  You hear the birds singing in the bare branches of the trees.  They are saying, “I know Spring is coming and I am preparing to make a nest.  I need a mate so that we can raise our brood.”  They are also saying other things.  (If my grandfather were translating, he would say they are starting competitions to find the best tree for a nest, the best lining for that nest, the best place to get bugs and worms, and saying they were the best providers…trying to lure the women.)  Regardless, we who are human can barely see that Spring is coming when it is still very cold and there is ice still on the ground.  But, the animals know.

Today, while I was out walking.  I noticed that after the rain last night the earthworms were abundant.  Now, while that in itself is not amazing….what is is that they come to the surface, the papa birds get them and take them back to the moma birds who are now trying to sit on early nests.  The worms come just at the time when they are needed to nourish those things that need them to continue the cycle of life.  Seeing an earthworm on the sidewalk usually means that some bird somewhere will have a meal.

The bug life starts to begin too.  Those larva that were dormant will begin to grow and emerge very soon as butterflies and other types of bugs.  Others will dig there way out of the ground where they lay dormant for the winter.  The cicadas will soon start their songs in the evenings when the sun drops and the breeze is warm.

Frogs and toads are on the rise.  They too eat bugs and earthworms.  If you life near a pond or water, you are beginning to hear the little chirps and croaks from the frogs and toads.  They too are the harbringers of Spring.  Their song is pleasant and appealing to someone like me. 

I love to hear the symphony that begins with each new day.  First you hear the birds with their melodious and wonderful songs.  They sing in different tones and with different tempos.  It all fits together beautifully.  Then, about evening, the frogs, toads, crickets, cicadas, etc.  The chirps, peeps and croaks all fit together in a beautif lullaby to sleep by.

All we have to do is open our eye and ears and we can hear and see the really amazing beauty out there, the changes of the seasons and the cycles of life.  We can be caught up in Spring and gleefully hear the music that is around us.  It may even cause some of us to dance to the rhythm.

God is truly amazing and His wonder spreads to all the world.  Think about how syncronized all of the actions of nature and animals and bugs and us are.  It is not just hapenstance….There is a rhythm….